At a time when tensions are high over police violence against African Americans and sexual violence against women, hundreds of UC Santa Barbara students lined up to hear race theory and civil rights activist Kimberlé Crenshaw advise marginalized groups to go beyond marching under one banner.
“People are so convinced we are moving forward, they don’t realize we are passing the same terrain we’ve seen before,” Crenshaw said at Campbell Hall in a talk hosted by the Multi Cultural Center.
Monique Meunier, a ballet dancer and UC Santa Barbara assistant professor, felt a need to respond to the polarizing, divisive presidential election of 2016, believing that national solidarity is more important than ever.
So she choreographed and directed a Fine Arts and Performing Arts collaborative performance titled Still We Rise, for UCSB students to come together to support those whose futures are imperiled by proposed changes to DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was begun during the Obama presidency.
The performance premiered last winter to 120 people over two nights and concluded with ten dancers coming together at center stage to recite poet Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.”
“It wasn't until I joined Hermanas Unidas, a Latina/Chicana campus organization, that I finally felt a sense of belonging. It gave me a new home away from home. Hermanas Unidas, or United Sisters, is an organization that serves the Latina/Chicana community on campus and provides boundless opportunities and resources for its members. Quarterly retreats and road trips to other chapters allow new and current members to explore places outside of campus, and to bond and build social relationships with one another. Organizing a Valentine's day dance for a retirement home in Goleta and volunteering at local elementary schools to guide troubled youth who struggle in school, are just a few activities that provide hermanas an opportunity to invest in something larger than themselves.”
—SAIRA RODRIGUEZ
The Division of Humanities and Fine Arts is thrilled to announce that English professor Patricia Fumerton and performing arts curator David Seubert, of the Special Research Collection at UC Santa Barbara’s library, have been awarded a total of $630,000 in grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for research projects in the field of music.
Fumerton, a professor of English literature, received $315,000 for her ongoing project titled "EBBA and the British Library: Making Popular Ballads of the Past more Present." Library curator David Seubert also won $315,000 for his work on “The American Discography Project: Edison Disc Recording Access Initiative,” which is to complete discographic entries for the entire output of Edison Diamond Discs, Thomas Edison's recording company, for the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
"Ebb & Flow," a photograph by Lianna Nakashima, is the runner-up of the Photography category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
"Letter to?," a video by Paris Cullen, is the runner-up of the Video category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
This poem, titled “Train of Thought” and written by Andrew Nguyen, is the runner-up of the Creative Writing category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
This multimedia piece called "The Girl in Red II", created by Noelle Barr, is the runner-up of the Visual Art category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
The Spanish and Portuguese Department earlier this month presented “Verbal Kaleidoscope” the first interdisciplinary conference at UC Santa Barbara dedicated to Indigenous literatures. Several poets of the Zapotec, Mazatec, Spanish, Basque, and other language groups recited their work in what organizer Osiris Gómez described as a display of diversity.
“Verbal Kaleidoscope is a metaphor for cultural and linguistic plurality, said Gómez, a Spanish and Portuguese Ph.D. candidate. “The world, even at a community level is immensely diverse…With every swirl, movement, transition, we face new challenges and promising forms.”
This video, created by Malcolm Rashid, is the winner of the Video category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
UC Santa Barbara offers 411 study abroad opportunities in 44 countries under its popular Education Abroad Program. One of those programs enabled Nicholas Wagenseller to study abroad in Japan, which he had always longed for. Finally, that dream came true.
“Middle school students looked surprised when they saw I spoke in Japanese, and they asked me to take a picture together,” he said.
This photo edit, created by Brent Gibbs, is the winner of the Photography category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
“The Water is Cold”, a poem by Alyssa Smith is the winner in the Creative Writing category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
This small painting, created by Jessica O’Brien, is the winner of the Visual Art category of the “Tell Your Story” student contest conducted by UC Santa Barbara’s Division of Humanities and Fine Arts for Give Day 2018.
Humanities and Fine Arts is proud to announce the winners and runners up in the UCSB Give Day 2018 contest, which provided a platform for entrants to tell their own "Story of Creativity" by submitting their photography, visual art, videos and creative writings. A panel of student intern judges and alumni picked the winners, who were honored at a lunch on Give Day with Dean John Majewski. Their submissions will be featured here on the HFA website in coming days.
The UC Santa Barbara Writing Program is pleased to announce the creation of the Charles Bazerman Endowed Faculty Fellowship for Professional Development in Writing. This endowed fund supports an annual, competitive, two-course fellowship for a Continuing Lecturer in the Writing Program.
By Michael Dominguez
At UC Santa Barbara, we students are surrounded by academically-seasoned minds within an elite research institution. College doesn’t hand you a career, you must build a career with your own hands, and your own mind. Universities hand you the tools to learn from your passions. But, how can we use these learning tool-kits to transform our own passions into a life-long goal? My answer: Curiosity.
Maya Zhobi is an Art Major at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) in its College of Creative Studies. Hear her talk about her work, inspirations, and aspirations outside of school in the following Student Spotlight video.
Aline Ferreira, an assistant professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese, is currently directing high-tech eye tracking equipment in UCSB’s Bilingualism, Translation, and Cognition Laboratory to observe the brain as it translates from a speaker or typist’s mother tongue to a second language and back again.
She discussed this and other projects in a recent interview with HFA student Sierrah DeBoer.
Writing Program lecturer Patricia Fancher’s research on 20th Century women physicians aligns with her focus on feminist rhetoric, women's writing and writing in the sciences. She was a first generation college student and attributes much of her own success to the community of women who supported her and mentored her through her educational journey.
“It feels like a beautiful tribute to continue to study how other communities of women mentor and support each other,” Fancher said.
